The World Ends With You After-Story: Shibuya Overground
by MemoryWriter
Summary: It's been a year since Neku & his friends escaped the Game and life is normal again when starting high school. But Noise are attacking the real world & they're the only ones who can defend Shibuya from a new force who plans to merge the RG and the UG. But what's causing it? Why are Joshua & the Reapers hiding away in the RG? And will Neku finally realize his feelings for Shiki?
1. Chapter 1

_BZZZ BZZZ. BZZZ BZZZ. BZZZZ BZZ-_

Neku groans, half frustrated from having to wake up, but half grateful for finally managing to find his phone to stop the alarm. You think a nice, silent, vibrating wake up alarm would be rather quiet. To Neku's mind it sounded like a construction site, but nonetheless the morning routine continues for that of a normal, 16 year old High School student.

Elsewhere, other young teens of a specific group wake up as well - to their own agendas. Some wake up gracefully at the first alarm. Others throw their phone alarm across the room for a few more minutes. Some get up earlier to take that relaxing, long shower before school, while others get up and make breakfast before waking up their big sibling who slept in.

But Neku's morning routine was rather different. Repetitive and almost empty in motion. But after getting his uniform on, tie straight and shirt decently tucked in, he couldn't help but notice small object on his desk by his window. It was his old cell phone - the same one he 'died' with and carried into the Reaper's Game - The same phone that was upgraded by Mr. H alongside Joshua's. Strangely enough after they came back, the phone never worked again. Neku didn't question it. It was time for an upgrade anyway. It was an old model, a flip phone made without a camera until Mr. H got a hold of it, and even Shiki lectured him about getting a new one when they first met.

Still. The phone was sentimental. Yeah Neku wasn't as sentimental a person, but all the scratches on the flip phone's cover was proof of the physical struggle and battles he went through. It was proof the game existed. Happened. And, the no longer working and scratched up phone remained on that desk year round...

That aside, Neku always made one stop on his way to Shibuya High. The WildKat Cafe.

While walking along the Shibuya streets with his trademark headphones around his neck, Neku checks his watch underneath his wristband. Only 7:15. He has time.

"Can't believe it's almost been a year..." Neku finds himself saying out loud, not that there's anyone to hear him. A year ago, at the age of 15, he had died getting shot in A-East, and wound up in the Underground playing an insane game that would determine his fate. But not just his - other people's lives were at stake alongside his. Notably Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme - his new friends. And they all returned to the real world having 'survived' their accidents and tragic deaths. Beat and Rhyme survived getting hit by that car. Shiki survived her accident. And Neku woke up in a hospital having survived a bullet wound. And just as promised, they all met up in their promised meeting place: the Hachiko Statue.

And they've been friends since.

"Here we are," Neku says, stopping in front of the abandoned building. WildKat Cafe. While assumingly visible to the real world's eyes, ever since the kids came back the cafe has always been empty. A sign is ever present on the door saying: "_Temporarily closed – be back whenever_". Neku scoffs at the sign. "Off course. Don't know why I'd expect otherwise."

Neku would visit the cafe every morning before school, just to check if Mr. H were ever round. He never is. Neku hasn't seen Mr. H since the Reaper's Game. He speculated he may have disappeared off the face of the earth, like Joshua and the other reapers they've met. Assumingly they all lived alternate likes in the real world, but their paths have had yet to cross.

Still, CAT's work was still active. Graffiti. Design. So forth, so Mr. H is still kicking it somewhere. Just never in Shibuya as far as Neku sees.

But every now and then, Neku will notice a letter in the cafe's front mailbox next to the locked door. At first Neku assumed it was a tax or a bill for Mr. H or something, but Neku soon found the letter to be for him. Nothing important - just a message of hello. How he's doing. Questions of how they're all getting along in school. No return address either. Neku no longer questions how the letter to him got there - whether by Mr. H himself or some supernatural power. But it's convenient.

Neku places his own recent reply letter back in the mailbox. Somehow his letters always manage to disappear a day after he puts it in Mr. H's mailbox. Neku assumes it reaches the mysterious man somehow, because there's always a reply eventually. Magic maybe? Who knows. After the game, who knows what else is out there?

"Sorry Mr. H; it's been two months since I've written anything. The guys and I have been busy with school," Neku says, closing the metal mailbox with a cling. "We've all started school together a month ago in September. Our second year round of high school, heh."

Neku glances up with his hands in his pockets. The cafe's decaying sign brings back memories of urgency from the game. "Beat's the same numbskull as usual. Even louder if that's possible, but he's trying harder now in school. Funny right?"

Ever since the summer they all met in the UG, once starting high school together for the first time, Beat made an effort to try hard in his academics. It didn't necessarily mean he was any geniuses, but he's making an effort for Rhyme. Still, it didn't change his detention streak from freshman year. Sophomore year was starting off no differently.

"And Rhyme's the same-old-same-old, too. Keeping her big bro in line for us. That girl's always got her hands full," Neku chuckles. "She's starting middle school this year in the building next to our high school. Shiki's totally psyched about it, but Beat's a wreck. I don't think he can stand seeing Rhyme in a school uniform with skirts like that. He's going to be plenty work for us this year."

A wind passes by, and sends a familiar chill to Neku as he thinks back to the games again. "And Shiki's changed a lot this past year, too. When we all met up and saw the real her, we were ecstatic. But she was a lot more reserved, and soft-spoken. It's hard to believe suck a stalker used to fight Noise and take dives like she did back in the UG." Neku smiles. "But we're getting her there. She's becoming a bit more louder. Fun. Heh, and she even introduced her friend Eri to us a couple days after we all met up. Told her all about the games too." Neku sighs. "To be completely honest Eri's okay. Maybe as troublesome as Beat even, or even more annoying than Shiki was in that body. But, she believes all the Reaper Game crap and she sticks around, so I guess I can't complain. She can be pretty cool sometimes, too."

A small beep comes up from Neku's watch, and he notices it's 7:56 already. He whistles. "Better jet or I'm gonna be late again. Later, Mr. H," Neku bids goodbye. Sure Mr. H isn't technically there. Sure _no one_ is there at all to listen to his talking, but Neku finds it beneficial for himself somehow.

Now if only running all the way to Shibuya High in under five minutes were as easy.

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Where the heck is Neku...?" Shiki asks, sitting at her desk.

"Aw, is someone thinking about her boyfriend?" Eri giggles behind her.

A spark of a vein erupts on the girl's head as Shiki snaps around. "You're hilarious," she humors with an intent pout and glare. Meanwhile in the other side of the room by the windows, Beat was standing low on the radiator, looking out and down two school floors looking for a particular carrot-top. "YO PHONES! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Beat yells, as if Neku can hear him. "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!"

A couple students give beat odd stares, while Shiki and Eri sit slumped in their seats. But Beat's already attained a reputation as the notorious loudmouth who did whatever he wanted. "Beat's the same as usual, I see," Eri stares, eye twitching in distaste. "Besides, Neku always shows up last for homeroom. What's so special today?"

Shiki turns back forward with a shy smile on her face, her legs together and her posture straight to hide her happiness of nostalgia. "Today's the anniversary."

"Huh?"

"A year ago today was when Neku, Rhyme, Beat, and me all met up for the first time, at the Hachiko Statue," Shiki recalls. It was of the happiest, most surreal moments in Shiki's life, and a precious memory to her. "We never really talked about it or planned anything special for the occasion today, but, I remember." Shiki looks up towards a still screaming Beat, and Eri follows the gaze. "And Beat sure looks like he remembers. I bet Rhyme's thinking the same thing in her homeroom right now."

"Wow," Eri starts, blinking. "You guys are so close. No wonder you all clicked so well when you first introduced me to them."

"It's the Game I'm telling you," Shiki says. "As horrible as the whole ordeal was, if it wasn't for those few weeks then we wouldn't be here." Shiki looks her best friend in the eyes, the same eyes she borrowed for those 3 weeks in the UG. "And I wouldn't be making your designs, still."

Eri chuckles and lets herself smile, placing her head in a lazy hand. "To think in some alternate reality you actually died in that accident. All you guys."

"Yeah..." Then Shiki smiles, turning a little pink in the face. Eri notices and stares her in. "But, Neku saved us."

"Morning guys," Neku says on cue, walking in nonchalantly. Eri and Shiki both turn around in their seats and greet him good morning back. Beat turns around as well in complete astonishment, falling off the heat radiator in the process after a shout. No dubt more stares came on. "What's with him?" Neku frowns.

"WHAAA-! Yo man! How'd you get in 'ere without me seeing you?!" Beat shouts, pointing his arm back at the windows.

"I went in through the back door?" Neku can't help but notice how unmade Beats uniform was this morning. Fresh wrinkles on the fully unbuttoned school shirt, un tucked and tie un-tied. _His uniform's as gruesome as ever_. "I'm guessing you washed your shirt yesterday huh?" Neku teases with a half grin.

Beat, immediately forgetting his past questions, grins proudly and places his hands on his hips. "Hell yeah. Rhyme helped me get it to smell all nice and fresh again. Look no pit stains," Beat brags, lifting an arm.

Eri scoffs, rolling her eyes at the boys. "Well you definitely didn't iron your school shirt I see." A vein appears on Beat's hat, but the four friends begin laughing anyway. Who would've thought that after meeting they'd all end up in the same high school their Freshman Year. Now it's their second round and they managed to snag the same homeroom together.

Nonetheless despite the special day, school went on as usual. Boring classes. Learning. Sleeping. Writing. Note passing. Lecturing. Life goes on. However there was once instance in math class. Neku was minding his own business, tying not to zone out on their algebra lesson.

_'!' _

A sudden shock. Neku's head springs up suddenly wide awake. It wasn't a pinch or a pang of nerves. But, some strange feeling. Bad vibes. 'What the hell?'

Neku's eyes look round the room for anything strange. Shiki's taking notes up front. Eri's doing her best to try and understand the horrible equation on board. And Beat's- well, he's out like a light in the seat behind Neku.

"Guess I'm the only one who felt that," Neku mutters suspiciously. Everyone gets bad vibes once in a while. That's instinct. But this feeling, this sensation -it was different. It was the same sensation from the games whenever Neku would sense huge levels of negative energy. Negative energy that only belonged to _noise_.

_Could it...? Is it possible?_ Neku exhales, relaxing in his seat to calm his nerves. "Relax. You're just anxious, that's all."

The geometry lesson went on without another word or 'vibe'. But Neku was alert for the rest of class, and not within good reason.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"And then, bam, I just... _felt_ it," Neku tries explaining to Shiki. It was after school, and the two were walking home together. Their homes were close enough together that when everyone split up to go home for the day, the two were usually left alone. At one point Shiki noticed Neku's quiet demeanor. Or, quieter than usual at least. So he took it upon himself to explain his secret paranoia that afternoon. "I don't know what to make of it."

"And you're sure it's the same negative energy that came from the Noise?" Shiki asks with a worried look.

Neku remains serious. "I don't know," he admits, not a hundred percent sure. "But I know what I felt."

"You didn't see anything did you?" Neku responds with a shake of his head. Shiki frowns. "Mm. Don't let it get to you too much, Neku. We're all thinking about the Games today."

"Yeah..." Neku stares at the concrete. Maybe that's just it. It's been a year. It's all on their minds. Neku figured he was just paranoid. "You're right. Just forget I brought it up."

Shiki remains frowning, a little sad. Sure he's dropped the topic but Neku still looked troubled. "Hey, Rhyme and were talking during lunch today. Maybe tomorrow after school we can all hit up Shibukyu Station and get something to eat there together for a change. You up for it?"

"Why not," Neku replies simply, not enthralled but hopeful it'll take his mind off things. School's been brutal lately. Adjusting to new teachers, new classes. They all need the leisure time. Soon enough Neku and Shiki reach the girl's house first. It's about two blocks away from Neku's. "Here's your stop, Four-Eyes," Neku says with a teasing half smile.

Shiki chuckles tucking some of her black hair behind her ear and pushing up her large round frames. "Thank you for walking me, Neku."

"We walk the same way all the time. Don't think you're special. Stalker," Neku frowns, turning around to walk off. Shiki smiles at the old nick name and waves away before going up her stairs.

Neku walked at his own slow pace as the sky reddened. If there were any parts of his day he looked forward to, they were walking to school, and walking home from school. Walking always cleared Neku's mind. Sure he was usually alone, but he didn't mind Shiki when walking home. Neku would never admit it, but she was pleasant company. Not that he'd ever tell her that and give her the satisfaction.

"I'm home," Neku announces automatically, removing his shoes by the door. However no voices are met to greet his. Force of habit, nonetheless.

Neku drops his school stuff off by the kitchen table before heading upstairs to his room. The house is dark, illuminated by the sunset's red rays, giving a late aura to the place. Neku was tired and just wanted to sleep in early. He loosened his tie and went to unbutton the top button at the collar before hearing a buzz. "A text?"

Neku reaches into his pocket to pull out his phone, but it simply shows the time. Nothing else. No one called him. No one texted him. A contorted face is enough to spell out Neku's confusion. "What?" Neku presses some buttons before giving up. Nothing. "Whatever," Neku frowns, lowering his hand.

The buzz sound sounds off again from the phone and Neku immediately raises it back into sight. Still no change in the screen, and Neku is getting warily frustrated. But more vibrating buzzing continues to sound off, but not from the phone in Neku's hand. "Huh?"

Out of Neku's view, he could swear he's seeing his older flip phone on his desk, vibrating. The tiny square top screen lit up, suddenly alive and working again.

The buzz would continue on s Neku stood still. Staring. "Impossible," Neku says, narrowing his eyes. After a nervous gulp, he placed hid normal phone back in his pocket and went to pick up the old moment. It was alive and kicking alright. The phone still vibrated in his hand, and the tiny front of the phone lit up with the words: 'Text Message!'.

'_But how does this even work anymore? The battery's fried. And why would a text be sent to this phone?_'

After some stalling, Neku finally flipped up the old scrap-phone. Color drains from his face. _No way_. What he saw on the screen was enough to make his eyes widen:

'**Don't ignore them. You need to cross over and fight or else**.'  
**Sent From: Sanae Hanekoma**

"Don't ignore who? Fight what?" Neku stares at the text, reading it over multiple times. Dread and horror covered the teen's face. "From Mr. H..."

Neku's hand shook as he carefully walked backwards until he reached his bed, sitting. _Don't ignore them. You need to cross over and fight or else_. Neku was used to being passive about unexplainable phenomena in the real world. After fighting three weeks' worth of the Reaper's Game, what worth is reason anymore?

But this, Neku had to try and figure out. He needed reason. Otherwise, something could happen. "It's a warning... but of what?" Neku exhales, holding the phone over his head as he laid back. The screen went blank from idle use. "What the hell, Mr. H..."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The night remained restless for Neku. He even beat his alarm when it came to waking up. Neku got out of bed half an hour early. And after continuing his automatic morning routine of getting ready and dressed, he finds his scratched up flip phone on his pillow. Picking it up and hoping it was a dream, Neku flips it open. The battery is full power, and in the history there is one text. The same one from yesterday.

"So it wasn't a dream," Neku frowns, narrowing his eyes.

Neku remaines serious on his journey to school. Earlier he tried to see if he could reply to the sent text. No number to reply to. Neku did his routine drop by at Cat Street, passing WildKat once more. As frustrated as Neku was, he couldn't bring himself to stop as long as he wanted to. He needed to get to school and tell the others what happened. But a particular orange color pops itself out of the cafe's black iron mailbox. _That_ gets Neku.

It's from Mr. H.

Neku opens Mr. H's mailbox and surely enough an envelope is there. But it isn't Neku's letter he dropped off yesterday, filled with casual greetings and updates. Instead this is extra sealed with glue and tape and the works. Not Mr. H's normal replies. And only a day after? Impossible.

Neku hurries to tear the envelope open, only there's no letter inside. Instead lies in the bottom corner of the envelope is a blue pin, with the same design as a Player's Pin from the Reaper's Game: the black tribal skull.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Neku arrives at school on normal time: the last out of his friends per usual. Eri, Shiki, and Beat are there to greet him but Neku simply walks past them and towards his desk in the middle of the room. Without a word he places his headphones over his ears and sits back, paying no mind to anything around him.

"Looks like Phones is off on his own again," Beat notes, scratching his head.

Eri nods, a disapproving pout on her lips. "I can never get him. He was like, fine yesterday wasn't he?"

"Totally," Beat blinks, still stumped.

However Shiki merely sits in silence, staring at the distant Sakuraba. She noticed the day before how the boy was acting vaguely strange. He even had the courage to tell her what was troubling him. Sure it remained open ended, and Shiki hoped Neku would've calmed down by now, but it turns out that isn't the case. '_What happened, Neku?_'

With his friends out of reach and Neku still somewhat in his own world, he let his mind wander. The old flip phone was buried deep in his pocket, along with the blue pin from Mr. H that morning. '_Everything's too coincidental. Thinking I'm sensing Noise, a text from Mr. H on a phone that broke down, and now that pin.'_

Neku ignored the stares from his friends and looked around at the other few students present in the room. They were normal. They could see Neku. He wasn't invisible. No thoughts could be heard out loud and no negative vibes that present Noise. They're not in a game. Yesterday Neku would've believed Shiki and thought just paranoia, but now everything's piecing together. It's not paranoia. Mr. H was warning him. Them. Of something. '_But of what?_' Neku didn't want to tell his friends yet, in case it was really nothing to worry over. Hopefully it was just coincidential paranoia.

The loudspeaker above the room began to sound off. "Daisukenojo Bito! Please report to the principal's office! NOW!" screeched the school secretary's voice. Beat of course winced, along with other students who heard the wail.

"Awgh, what'd I do now?" Beat groans. "And did they have to use that name?!"

"You better go," Shiki says with a sympathetic smile, while Eri laughed behind her. With one more 'hmph', Beat swipes his bag and calmly marches out of the classroom.

Neku watches from the corner of his eyes. Beat's probably getting a detention or something for some stupid stunt yesterday or so. While Neku's mind eases into other possible antics of Beat's, he doesn't notice Shiki walking up to him on the other side of his desk. By the time he does, she catches him by surprise and her smile's the only thing he sees in front of him.

Hesitantly but slowly he removes his headphones in polite courtesy, despite wanting to be alone to think for now. "Yeah?"

Shiki lowers herself a little and leans a bit over the desk to whisper lowly, "Are you okay, Neku?" she asks, concerned. "You've been acting weird lately."

Normally Neku would brush off stupid questions like that, but Neku can't ever seem to push Shiki away. Whatever that reason was however wasn't important at the moment. He was caught the second he told her about the voices yesterday. Quickly he decides, and Neku replies quietly. "Meet me on the roof during lunch," Neku says, only to be met with Shiki's confused expression.

"Are we allowed up there?" Shiki asks. A goodie two shoes.

"Doesn't matter. It's open and quiet. Don't tell the others." Shiki's suspicion grows accusingly as her face contorts more, and Neku merely rolls his eyes. "Oh don't flatter yourself and get any weird ideas, okay? The roof's the only place I can think of."

"Is this about what you told me yesterday?" Shiki asks, genuinely concerned. Neku hesitates for a moment, but nods once. Shiki sighs, but a few seconds later her face is a bit more confident. _This sounds serious_. "Okay. The roof right?"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

At lunch period, Shiki walked up the unfamiliar staircase that led to the fifth floor, aka the roof. Students weren't really permitted up there, but the faculty never really looked into whether kids ever went up to the roof or not, so it was no surprise to Shiki that Neku probably went up there often.

Shiki carried herself up the errie staircase until she reached a door with a light shining through the tiny square window. Opening the rather heavy door, she was met with a welcoming cool breeze and a beautiful blue sky. Suddenly her worries of getting caught and reprimanded disappeared with the wind. "Wow…" Shiki mutters, walking forward and closing the door quietly behind her. The roof was rather large, and surrounded by a wire fence. So much space, it was beautiful.

"So you made it," a voice says behind her, and Shiki swipes around to the door. Looking up, she sees Neku sitting atop the staircase doorway. He jumps down beside her, further weirding her out. "So Four Eyes does have the guts to come up here. You are a true Stalker indeed."

"Hey you're the one who invited me up here," Shiki frowns, crossing her arms and looking away from Neku. But she still couldn't help but admire the atmosphere of such a forbidden place to the students. Then again, maybe the beauty of it was that no one was ever here.

"Nice right?" Neku speaks up.

"I can actually see the skies," Shiki says quietly, noting how much blue there was. In a tall city like Shibuya, having the sky as a majority of your view was rare.

"There's something attractive about seeing Shibuya from far up. You feel like the top of the world," Neku says, unusually happy sounding. But his face distorts back into one of seriousness. "But that aside, there's something I need to show you."

"What is it?"

"Did you get any weird texts yesterday?" Neku asks first, reaching into his pocket. He's looking for it.

"No. Why?" Shiki watches Neku take out his old flip phone from his pocket, opening it. After pressing a few buttons while stumping the girl who initially thought the phone to be dead, her mind changes when he shows her the screen with a text.

Shiki reads the screen, taking it in and furthering her own questions. She does a double take before looking back to Neku. _It can't be_. "Neku what's this."

Neku's face remains. "Mr. H is warning us of something. Only I don't know what of."

"A-Are you sure it's him? Maybe it's some prank or joke." A sick joke, Shiki thinks.

"That's what I was hoping, but this phone's been dead Shiki."

"I know. I remember telling you off about it back in the UG," Shiki frowns, closing the phone and returning it to Neku. "So, it just, worked all of a sudden? Just like that?"

"Apparently," Neku says distantly, looking at the multiple scratches on the front of it. "It just buzzed out of nowhere after I got home yesterday and, there the message was. I was hoping at least you or the guys got the same text but, I guess not."

"You're also the only one who kept their old phone after the Game. We all got rid of ours," Shiki frowns. If they'd kept their old phones like Neku, would they have gotten the text? Then again, his was the only one out of all of them that got personally upgraded with cool features by Mr. H.

Shiki watches worried as Neku walks up to the front of the roof, and she slowly follows. Frustrated, Neku grabs the fence wire and leans against it, looking down. "Are you that freaked out about all this?" Shiki asks.

"Hell yeah I am," Neku says back. "First those freaky vibes yesterday, then the text. And now that stupid pin."

Shiki's heart freezes. "What pin."

Neku, forgetting about that last shred of proof, takes it out of his pocket as well to show Shiki. She holds it in her hand, instantly remembering her old quest for attaining pins for psychs and weaponry for battles. For a year they just became regular pins again, but now… "Neku?"

"Mr. H left it in his mailbox for me at WildKat this morning, a day after he sent me the text," Neku explains seriously, slowly making Shiki into a believer. He notices her eyes glues to the pin, and the confused and mixed feelings along with it. "Something's coming."

Shiki remains speechless. Sad? Angry? Afraid? She couldn't tell. She thought she was done with anything having to do with the game. She thought that hell was over. And now a year later, the anguish was intruding into their established normalcy.

Neku takes the pin back, observing it. Were there any more hidden messages? He holds it up to the sun, praying for another answer.

_'!'_

But their silence is interrupted by Neku wincing painfully suddenly. So much that he just falls to his knees. He can barely hear Shiki's cries of worry as her arms go to his, and she kneels down with him. Yelling words. "_I-It's those negative vibes, again_," Neku winces. This one was a lot more noticeable than the one yesterday in math class.

"Neku?!" Shiki panics, her hand connecting to Neku's arm. "What's wrong?!"

"I-I don't know," Neku struggles to say. His hand grips the pin tightly, as he tries to pick himself back up. But all that's running through his head are screaming and this horrible gut feeling. Not even in the Reaper's Game was sensing Noise that painful.

_Noise_.

Could it be? "Neku get a grip!" Shiki tries to call, shaking the unresponsive Neku. She tries to hold his hand in an attempt to calm him. And he sqeezes hers, the one with the pin. But with Shiki's hand holding the pin as well, suddenly she feels a familiar vibe. Not as strong as Neku's, but she understands. A chill goes through her body and she gets goosebumps. "_This feeling…_"

Finally the pain subsides in Neku, and his grip loosens on Shiki's hand, as does her's on him. They both sit calmly, Neku catching his breath from that rush. And with Shiki no longer touching the pin, she was left normal, but in shock. For a moment, she finally knew what was going on with Neku. "Noise…" is all Shiki can say.

Neku's head jumps up at the word. Someone else who thinks so, too? "You think it's Noise, Shiki?" Neku asks. _She felt it, too._

Shiki picks up her hands, looking at them both in an unrelenting memory. "It's the same vibe I'd get in the game, whenever I knew noise were around. All we had to do was scan and we'd see them," she recalls breathlessly.

_Scan_. "Shiki that's it!" Neku realizes.

"What's it?"

"The pin," Neku says, looking at it again. Once more, he holds it up to the skies, seeing it shine in the light. Holding that pin, Neku couldn't help but feel he was in the game somehow. Maybe that's not the case, but something was happening. And the pin was the center of it.


	2. Chapter 2

"Shiki that's it!" Neku realizes.

"What's it?"

"The pin," Neku says, looking at it again. Once more, he holds it up to the skies, seeing it shine in the light. Holding that pin, Neku couldn't help but feel he was in the game somehow. Maybe that's not the case, but something was happening. And the pin was the center of it.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

While Shiki and Neku were talking up on the roof, Beat meanwhile was stuck in the school's office in a chair, sitting out lunch as punishment for kicking over a school bench out in the cafeteria the previous day. Not that this wasn't normal. Beat was used to punishments in school and being confined to this stupid office. Didn't mean he liked it.

"Hmph," Beat pouted, feet up and arms crossed. The office was empty since the secretary was out for lunch. But the principal and vice principal were in the neighboring rooms and would know if Beat tried to leave. He knows. What kept this lunch detention manageable for him was the window looking outside. He had a perfect view of the courtyard of the middle school, and he could see Rhyme interacting with her new friends. Female friends, luckily for him. Beat swore if any school boy interacted with his little sister, he'd be out that window in a heartbeat.

As Beat stared out the window, albeit content, the office door to the hall opened with a friendly greeting. "Hey Beat," Eri called, looking in first.

Beat turns to see the friendly face. "Eri." She throws him an orange that Beat naturally catches. The girl's stronger than she looks. "… What the heck is this?"

"It's a fruit. I figured you'd be thanking me for bringing you food," Eri frowns, crossing her arms in lack of gratitude. Nonetheless Beat eats it. "So what'd you get into trouble for this time?"

"Something with the cafeteria yesterday. Whatever. Totally bogus," Beat shrugs off, enjoying the orange with a rather barbaric way of peeling it. Eri could only watch in embarrassment, but she adjusted to Beat after a while. "On the bright side, at least I can watch Rhyme from here."

"Really?" Eri asks, excited. She follows Beat's face to the open window and Eri runs over to look out. She sees a couple of middle schoolers out on the neighboring courtyard that the Middle School and High School shared, separated by a fence. Rhyme was sitting under a tree with four other girls, enjoying their lunches. Eri could only smile, superbly happy at the sight. "Aww, Rhyme is adorable. It's a shame her big brother's a detention-holic."

"Heh," Beat grins. "But if any bastard kid comes near 'er I'm jumpin' that fence, yo! Screw detention!"

Eri once again sweatdrops. "You sure are a one track mind, I see…"

Beat is half way done with the fruit. "So what's up with Phones? You guys see 'im anywhere?"

"Nah. He's the same moody kid as ever. I think Shiki went to go find him." Eri smiles to herself, imagining her best friend and that boy. But in her daydream, she suddenly hears a crash and looks out once more. Huge explosions of dust spread across the middle school's courtyard, and chaos sends kids screaming and running. Winds pick up in that area, and all Eri can do is watch. "B-Beat? What's going on."

Having heard the screaming and crashing too, Beat jumps up and runs up next to Eri, both looking out the window. Some invisible force appears to be wreaking havoc at the middle school courtyard. And Rhyme was right in the middle of it. "RHYME!" Beat shouts.

Sudden dents appear in various parts of the wire fences, and some kids fly left and right, only to run to hide for shelter . The girls Rhyme was with huddle together under the tree for comfort, as Rhyme tries to get them to safety. A sudden slash goes across the tree, cutting it in clear half. The huge tree begins to topple over ever so slowly.

Eri screams as Beat shouts his sister's name again. "RHYME!" The smart girl manages to get all of her friends out of the way in a quick-though jump, and once the girls are running back to the middle school building, Rhyme begins running around to save other stuck kids. "RHYME! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" Beat screams. She doesn't hear.

"What's going on? How's this happening?" Eri panics, feeling like hell was freezing over.

Beat growls, his hat creating darker shadows over his eyes. "I dunno, but we've gotta do something."

"But- Your detention-"

"SCREW DETENTION! AaaaAAAAAHHHH!" Beat yells into the air, taking out his frustration and flipping the secretary's desk. Eri stands, frozen pale in shock and ridiculous question. She didn't know whether to focus on the strange occurrences of nature outside or to what ridiculous stunt Beat just did. Office supplies were scattered and papers flying everywhere.

"W-wha… BEAT! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US EXPELLED?!"

"I dunno," Beat replies nonchalantly, wiping his nose, furthering Eri's frustration. Suddenly he's a lot calmer. "Had a lot'a bent up energy, ya know?"

"No I DON'T know!" Eri screams back, making Beat wince. Out of all of Shiki's new friends, Beat got to her the worst. "Whatever we don't have time for this! We need to call someone! The police or the principal or-" Eri stops, seeing Beat standing completely still. Calm. Neutral. Panicked eyes. Such a state was rare for Beat. Wasn't he just about ready to become a human tornado a second ago. "Beat what the heck are you doing?" Eri lectures.

"Something's weird," Beat mutters lowly. His hand clutches his chest, where his heart is. A familiar, faint vibe. _That same frickin' feeling whenever those annoying Noise showed up_. Beat looks out the window, seeing the chaos still going on at the middle school grounds. It was very faint. Maybe even paranoia. But Beat couldn't ignore it. His hands grip together. "The bitch secretary stole my phone. Eri call Shiki and Phones!"

"What?"

"Just do it! I gotta split!" Beat yells all of a sudden. Pushing Eri aside and jumping onto the window sill. Two stories up from the ground.

Eri at first Is off put by being pushed aside after being ordered. But upon seeing the wild boy sitting in such a position at the ledge, her eyes bugged out. "BEAT!"

"Call'em! Tell the two to meet me at Rhyme's school, yo!" Beat grins and looks down once more before jumping out. "YEAH!"

"Beat!" Eri panics, running to the window to see if he made it. At first she can't find the delinquent, but she notices a huge dent in some bushes below, and before long a fast running Beat, running across the sports field. "H-He's inhumane," Eri murmurs. She knew Beat had some level of inhuman endurance but this was insane. _So what _is _going on at the Middle School_?

Eri pulls out her phone, looking for her friends' numbers.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Back up on the roof after Neku's realization, Shiki's phone begins to ring, spooking the kids. Shiki hurries to answer and finds Eri's name on the screen. "It's Eri… Hello?"

"_Shiki! Shiki are you there?!_" Eri's panicked voice shrills. Even Neku could hear it.

"Eri calm down I'm here. What's wrong-"

"It's the Middle School! Something freaky is happening and Beat just left to go. He said for you guys to meet him there-" she pauses, and she hears a door slam, and a man's lecturing voice. Eri's voice is suddenly rushed and quiet. "Just hurry up and find Beat. Rhyme's in trouble."

The cryptic call ends, and Shiki and Neku look at each other before turning to the same direction. On the other side of the roof, they could see the Middle School. Both kids stand back up and run over, only then realizing the destruction.

The Middle School's outside field was in complete destruction. Knocked over bleachers. Ruined baseball fields. A tree cut in half and fences dented. Shiki gasped while Neku stared. "What happened…?!" Shiki gasps, seeing a few kids remaining, trying to evacuate. And it's only in that area, too.

Taking his old advice to hand, Neku blocks out all panic and thoughts, closing his eyes and holding his hands still. _Focus_. Neku's mental third eye opens, and for a second he can see a faint outline of the middle school physically out in front of him. But then the image of a familiar monster appears in perfect view, and it's enough to Shock Neku back into reality. He remains calm. "It's Noise."

"Are you sure?"

"Use this to scan," Neku says, holding the pin out to her. Shiki takes it hesitantly, but does so anyway, closing her eyes and looking at the world through her mental third eye. Her reaction of a gasp is the same as Neku's, and he's definite this time. "You heard Eri. We need to go and meet up with Beat." Neku grabs Shiki's hand, unknowingly blushing, and they run at god speed down the stairs and out the school's back door.

As they're running, they eventually find Beat trying to climb the wire fence that separated the High School and Middle School grounds. Beat was there with Rhyme with the fence in between them, and Beat was constantly falling back down. "Rhyme! Beat!" Neku yells, finally arriving.

"Beat be careful!" Rhyme says on the other side, trying to persuade her brother to stop trying to climb the fence.

Beat falls back down on his butt once more, hitting the ground with his fist in frustration. "The damn fence won't let me over!"

"Duh it's like twenty feet tall," Neku frowns, igniting a stare off between the two friends.

"Rhyme are you okay? What happened?" Shiki asks, hands grabbing the fence where Rhyme is.

"I'm fine. All the other kids have been evacuated back into the building. But I don't know what's going on. It's like a ghost or something."

"No it's not! It's the freakin' Noise! That's what!" accuses Beat, throwing some dirt at the fence from the ground.

Neku in shock looks back down at Beat. Where did he get that assumption from? Unless… "You think it's them too?"

"Don't question me, yo! I felt it!" Beat defends, hitting his chest with his fist. Neku's stare narrows. So he and Shiki weren't the only ones.

Rhyme's face lowers. "A while before this happened I could've sworn I felt something too, a little bit, but I shrugged it off. If I knew-" Rhyme looks down. "I don't know." Rhyme too.

"No. Beat's right. It's the Noise," Neku finalizes. Everyone looks to him in question, while Shiki looks on in worry. They know Noise is definitely there. But they're not in the game. This is the real world. They don't have magical pins or pacts or rules. _And what the hell is it doing in the Real World anyway?_ Neku pulls out the blue pin, wondering if it could work. If it allows Neku to scan, then maybe it can do more.

"Neku where'd you get that?" Rhyme asks carefully, recognizing the design on the pin.

"Long story," Neku replies. "But I used it to scan earlier from the roof. There's Noise over there." Everyone looks to the courtyard. Loud crashes and bangs from nowhere could still be seen and heard. "We just can't see it."

Beat screams and holds his head in agony. "AARRGGH! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

_Your guess is as good as mine, man_. Neku looks back at the pin and holds it, closing his eyes to focus oncemore. _If I can just figure out how to activate it and use it, maybe-_

In the process of doing so, a sudden surge falls through Neku, from the pin and up his arm, and through his body. Like a jolt of lightening, something's happened, and for a second Neku doesn't know what it is. But hearing his friends' panicked voices calling out his name, he knows. Neku looks back and swears he sees himself falling backwards and down.

_Another me?!_ Neku looks at his own hand then back at his body- "My Body," Neku repeats.

"Neku! Neku wake up! Neku!" Shiki yells, having caught Neku. The both of them are on the ground, with Neku's motionless body resting in her arms. "Neku!"

"Y-Yo wake up man! This ain't funny!" Beat panics, unsure of how to take this.

"Neku...!" Rhyme says, stuck on the other side of the fence.

"Guys!" Neku yells. "I'm right here! I'm okay!" But his calls go unheard. None of them can see Neku, and he feels a familiar emptiness about being in a world where no one can see you. _I'm there again_. It then dawns on Neku. With the pin, he's crossed over. Somehow. Perhaps not the orthodox way, but Neku's body was out like a light. And Neku's, whatever, was here. His consciousness? Ghost? Spirit? Whatever it was he was there. And turning around, Neku could see the huge Noise in plain sight. Those giant frog Noise. Familiar indeed.

"Am I in the Underground?" Neku asks himself. He reaches into his pockets for any spare pins he may have on him. None are in his pockets, but upon seeing his hands, Neku sees a timer in his palm. "W-What? When did this get here?!" The timer ticks down. It looks like it just happened. Maybe when he separated from his body? What happens if this timer runs out?

"Neku wake up!" Shiki yells desperately, and Neku's attention is divided once more behind him. He hated seeing Shiki distressed. Any of his friends distressed at that, but he wished he could tell her he was alright somehow. But if she can't hear him...

Before going head-in first to the battle field, Neku first kneels next to his body and Shiki. Neku isn't sure of what he's doing, but he extends his hand and touches Shiki's arm. He can touch her, feel the warmth of her skin. He doesn't think she can feel him back, but there's sudden reaction. A slight chill.

"I'm okay Shiki," Neku says with an assuring smile. Yeah she can't see him or hear him, but Neku hopes his assurances reach her somehow. "I used this pin to cross over. I can use it to come back, after I beat the Noise. I promise." Whenever Shiki was distressed, Neku always had a habit of squeezing her arm in the same place. Maybe she got the message.

With that, Neku stands back up to face the Noise on the other side. Instead of jumping over the ridiculously tall fence, Neku finds himself able to phase through it. Not an ability he remembers from the UG but he isn't complaining. Less work and trouble for him.

"Shiki are you alright?" Rhyme asks, seeing Shiki in a daze.

"H-Huh? Oh I'm fine," Shiki breathes out, a little in shock. She looks down at Neku's unconscious figure and wonders. Just seconds before, she felt a chill on her arm. It could've been the wind, but for some reason she knew it wasn't. Somehow. It's the same place he always touched her arm when she was sad or needed comforting. _Neku?_

Neku runs up to the frog Noise, who immediately see him. "Come get me, you monsters!" Neku eggs on, arms out ready to fight. But he had no pins. And no partner. Would he be able to fight the Noise at all? Now that he thought about it, this was probably a stupid idea, going in without a plan. But he had to do something or else they'd find Rhyme.

As the Noise all come to attack, Neku holds his arms up in defense and suddenly a jolt of fire erupts from the ground, erasing one of the Noise and blowing back the rest. _Huh?_ Neku relinquishes his arms, wondering what's happened. "Fire?" He looks to his hands from the familiar power, the psych of the Pryokinisis pin. "But, I don't have that pin-"

Neku turns around towards his far away body, still cradled protectively in Shiki's silent hold, while Beat tries to wake him up. In Shiki's inside school collar is a special pin, the same pin she gave Neku when they first met in the Game, enabling Neku to use the psych to protect himself.

_I don't know how, but because she's in physical contact with my body, I must be able to use the pin_, Neku believes. More to his advantage, his faces the Noise with an even higher confidence level. "Get ready to eat fire, you frogs from Hell," Neku narrows.

"Yo guys check it out!" Beat directs, pulling Shiki back to reality. Beat and Rhyme are watching the middle school's courtyard. And slowly but surely, all of the random destruction is dying down.

"Things are starting to calm," Rhyme notices. "But how?"

"Yeah..." Shiki says suspiciously, looking back down at her friend. _Neku?_

"Last one," Neku pants, holding his arm out and easing the last Noise. At that, he's all alone in the battle field, having won the match against the Noise. Area cleared. Neku looks at his palm and sees the hellish timer halt to a stop. Seven minutes and thirty two seconds. "Thank God," Neku sighs in relief. Suddenly the world around him glows a bright white light, enveloping a blinded Neku.

_"...ku...wa..up...Neku's...ome space... Neku... Neku can you hear us, man?..."_ The random voices flood Neku's mind, along with a rhythmic thumping, and soon enough Neku's eyes shoot open and his body jolts. He's looking up, and he sees Beat's face ridiculously close to his. "AAHH!"

"BWHAA!" Bet freaks out, falling back against the fence in front of Rhyme.

The school girl giggles. "Thank heavens you're awake, Neku."

"I'm awake?" Neku blinks, trying to recall what just happened. He sees his former battle field behind Rhyme. _I was just there_.

"Thank God you're okay," third voice says behind him. Neku glances up a little and sees Shiki nestled behind him, holding him in her arms with his head resting against her chest and his back on her lap. "Are you okay?" she asks, her voice weak from worry.

_I'm back in my body_. Finally Neku smiles and nods. "Yeah."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

DIING. DOONG. DOONG. DING.

The Japanese bell rings throughout Shibuya High, and all of its students are scattered throughout the building for their after school routines. Clubs. Lockers. Practice. Leaving. Neku meanwhile was laying on a cot in the nurse's office, 'recovering' from practically nothing. Neku's body was physically fine. Tired yes but he didn't have to go to the nurse. Rhyme and Shiki insisted. So after the fiasco outside, Shiki helped Neku to the office and now she was sitting on a stool beside Neku and his ice pack covered forehead, both allowed to skip last period. It was just them.

"Well, this is better than bio," Neku sighs, taking the opportunity to relax from the stress.

Shiki exhales a little in an attempt to laugh. She was too relieved. "Don't you ever scare us like that again," Shiki tries to lecture, but she sounds more motherly than angry. "What happened back there?"

"I don't quite know myself," Neku replies, putting the ice pack aside. He didn't really need it. "But, I defeated the Noise."

"So you _were_ fighting," Shiki realizes. She suspected so.

"Yeah," Neku says, still in shock himself, lifting his hand to see his empty palm. "I had a timer and everything. Then when all the Noise were erased, I woke up back next to you guys." Neku looks at a still worried looking Shiki. "What's the matter?"

"Don't mind me. Just being a worry wart," Shiki sighs. "When you were fighting the Noise and Beat was trying all these weird stunts to wake you up, I noticed something while we had you." Neku arched his eyebrows. "I didn't want to tell the others since I wasn't sure, but, your heart Neku, it stopped beating."

Neku's face freezes, and a small glimmer shines in Shiki's glasses. Her hair frames her face so he can't see how worried she looks. "Neku, you were dead."

Those three words hit Neku like a blow from the toughest Noise. What did she just say? "I was dead...?" Neku breathes out, feeling slightly dizzy again. That wasn't part of the picture before. But at least he was alive now. "What the hell did I do?"

"And you could've warned us you were crossing over or something," Shiki pouts, pushing the previous topic aside.

"Shiki I don't even know if I did cross over to the UG. Heck that was the last thing I was expecting to do when I used the pin."

Shiki slowly begins to understand. "So the blue pin Mr. H supposedly gave you; it lets you scan, and cross over to battle noise?"

"'Cross Over', whatever it's called yeah. It separated me from my body, and I don't think that's how crossing over works. But the pin's definitely no use in battle. Stinkin' dud."

Shiki's face suddenly contorts into confusion. "Wait hold on a sec; you battled the Noise. Without a partner? Or pins?"

"It definitely would've been easier with a partner. Fending for myself is horrible. But fighting the Noise alone isn't impossible this time, weirdly enough," Neku notes, a little confused and stumped. "And, I hate to admit it but, you kind of saved my ass back there." Shiki's 'huh' was met with Neku's lift of a finger. He pointed to her pin inside her school collar. "The pyro pin. The only psych I was able to use in there."

"What?" Shiki looks at her collar then back at Neku. "But you weren't even wearing it."

"I know. But you were holding onto me at the time so I guess it counted or something," Neku figures, rubbing his cold forehead. Neku frowns, having a hard time finding words. "So, what I mean to say is, uh... Mm..."

"Thanks?" Shiki fills in with a light laugh.

A red tint on Neku's cheek comes on, and Neku frowns even more. "Yeah. That."

Shiki blushes a little too, but leaves it at that. "Glad I could help, partner." Neku looks at the girl at the familiar term, and both end up smiling then laughing. It truly has been a year, and everything was swinging back around again.

"PHONES!" Beat screeches from the window, spooking Shiki and Neku. They see a muscular arm hook itself onto the window's ledge, and soon enough a struggling Beat was there trying to pull himself up. Having trouble more or less. "Hey man! You alright, yo?!" he strains.

"B-Beat...?" Shiki and Neku recite, speechless at his sudden and strange appearance. How?

"Visitors," Rhyme warns opening the office door on the opposite side of the room, with Eri behind her.

"Ah, there he is," Eri frowns, seeing Beat struggling to reel himself into the room. "Beat said reaching the nurse's office that way would be faster than taking the stairs."

"B-But, aren't we on the 3rd floor?" Shiki stammers in a panic, wondering how Beat managed such a feat.

"That's what I said," Eri shrugs as Rhyme rushes to pull her brother in before he falls. Eri walks over and learns her elbow on Shiki's head. "So Sakuraba, how're you holding up?"

"Better than Beat," Neku remarks, seeing Beat fall in finally and Rhyme giggle at her big brother's antics. "So Eri, Shiki tells me you covered for all of us when we disappeared."

"You bet," Eri says proudly before putting on a lecture-like face. "But I hope you realize how hard it was. Beat practically left me in the scene of a totally worthless crime, and I had to explain to the principal how you fainted outside and that's why everyone ran out."

"Good cover."

"Whatever. All lies and covers aside are you alright?" Eri asks, curious. "I don't see any bruises but you don't look so hot, either."

"I'm fine," Neku replies, only to have Beat jump onto the cot over Neku's knees, startling everyone. Beat leans in with an intimidating gangster pout. "W-What..." Neku glares, a little nervous.

"Gee Phones. First you blank out then you black out and here you are - what gives yo?"

"I'd explain if you got off me for a start," Neku glares, not having the energy to push the guy off.

"Let's let Neku rest of a bit, huh Beat?" Rhyme asks. "Neku looks tired from today, Beat."

"I like Rhyme's idea," Shiki seconds, looking at a cornered Neku. He probably wasn't in the mood for explaining something he wasn't quite sure about yet, so maybe a day's wait was best.

"No," Neku sighs, spooking Shiki. "I'll be denying everything tomorrow so it's best I get it out now while it's still in my mind."

"Are you sure, Neku?" Shiki asks.

Neku nods, and everyone's looking at the orange-head. "That blue pin I had on me, I think I used it to cross over."

Rhyme and Beat are obviously stricken, but Eri merely looks lost. "Cross over?" Beat repeats, still hovering over Neku. "Like, 'cross-over' 'cross over'?"

What else? "Into the UG? I dunno yet but I left my body and that's why I was out for a while. But I was able to see the Noise in the courtyard. Use pins and everything."

"_What exactly did you guys do_?" Eri whispers to Shiki with an estranged face. Shiki merely wears a sheepish smile of her own.

"For real, Phones?" Beat asks, toning down from his former hyped up persona. "This sounds fishy, man."

You think? "You're telling me."

"Wait so, is this the same stuff you guys all did last year?" Eri asks, being new to the info. "Noises and, fighting and stuff? That's what all that was just now at the courtyard?"

"Sorry for sounding so vague Eri, but it seems that way," Rhyme apologizes, looking quite troubled herself.

"You seem pretty persuaded," Neku comments with a suspicious stare. "I figured you'd be calling us all crazy by now."

"Normally I would but, I saw it happen in front of my eyes." Eri explains, thinking back to her and Beat sitting in the school office. The attacks at the middle school? How they just suddenly stopped after you guys interfered? What other explanation is there?"

"Thanks, Eri," Shiki smiles as she touches Eri's hand on her shoulder. Shiki was glad her friend could understand this side of her world.

"All weirdness aside, we need to keep this on the low down," Neku advises everyone from where he lays. "No one can know about this obviously. And keep alert too. Apparently all of us can still sense negative vibes to an extent. Right?" Everyone except Eri nods. "Keep that up. Noise doesn't just come to the real world out of nowhere and attack normal people."

"We'll meet up again tomorrow at lunch to talk it out," Shiki advises again. "Neku bring the pin."

"Got it."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

The night of course was restless for all of them. Paranoia filled all their minds. That night, Rhyme slept in her brother's bed out of fear of being attacked again, despite her braver mind. Shiki and Eri remained on the phone all night 'til they fell asleep, afraid to be alone as well.

Neku, however, had no one to turn to. Alone again, Neku only had his room to his use. The pin and the miracle phone with Mr. H's cryptic text.

The next morning, everyone met up in homeroom once more, minus Rhyme who went next door. Neku arrived lastly as per norm and homeroom started once the teacher arrived. At first after clearing the morning up, Neku assumed it'd be a normal day and all he had to do was wait until lunch to talk. However everything changed in a minute.

"Alright class settle down!" the teacher spoke. "We have a new student so let's give him a good first impression alright?"

"Like we care," Neku mutters, busy studying for a last minute history test later that day. However the new kid walks in and Neku can hear a few girls already swooning, prompting Neku even more to not look up. Probably a snobby guy that Neku didn't want to deal with.

"Hell no…" Beat says behind him, unusually serious and slightly intimidated. Both terms barley used to describe Beat at all.

Giving in, Neku glances up and his blue eyes widen.

"Class, please welcome Joshua Kiryu, a transfer student from Osaka," the teacher explains. Up front, Shiki is already freezing up at the recognition. And Beat's voice explained his reaction, too. But Neku, just when he couldn't expect any more surprises, there's this. _It's Joshua_ Neku remembers. The last time they saw each other was in the final ends of the Game, when Joshua ended and spared everything by shooting Neku one last time. _Joshua's, here?_

"My name is Joshua," the new student greets. Same air and voice to him. Mysterious. Manipulative. A friend? No one knew. "I hope we can all get along."


End file.
